Musical instrument pick



Dec. 8, 1936. L. P. BELL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT PICK Filed NOV. 9, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l LEON/49D P BELL.

INVENTOR.

A TTO'RNEY Dec. 8, 1936.

L. P. BELL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT PICK Filed Nov. 9, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Lia x490 55.44

INVENTOR.

" ATORNEY Patented Dec. 8, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 20 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved pick for stringed musical instruments and to superior means for attaching said pick to the thumb of the musician.

The invention relates to the pick per se and to the cooperating attaching parts therefor.

An object of the invention is to provide an attaching means wherein ease of attachment and of removal of the pick will be combined With a secure holding of the pick in its attached position during use.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of a more compact assembly of a sufficient number of cooperating parts to hold the pick very securely in its attached position; to provide attaching means for the pick which will engage sufficiently spaced apart portions of the pick to insure the pick against injurious strain during use, and to provide an improved arrangement of latching means which cooperate with each other in an effective manner to keep the pick in place on the thumb of the user.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate what is at present deemed to be a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the pick shown separately.

Fig. 2 is an edge view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the complete device showing the pick attached thereto.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation illustrating the device attached to the hand in readiness for use.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the members illustrated in the upper portion of Fig. 3.

Figs. 6 and 7 are enlarged detail views of two of the members shown in Fig. 3, not elsewhere illustrated in detail.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the main parts of the device considered as a whole are the pick 5, thumb loop 6, frame or head 1, the pair of oppositely directed adjustable brackets 8, 8a., each of which is furnished with a recess 9, 9a, to receive one side of the rim of the pick, and each of which has a lower hook ID to cooperate with the recess thereof to hold a portion of the rim of the pick seated in said recesses, and an upper pair of hooks II for engaging and holding back the pick 5 at points on the pick spaced considerably above the portions thereof which are engaged by the lower hooks Ill.

The pick 5 per se consists of a relatively thin, flat, narrow annulus or loop which may be made of metal, tortoise or of other suitable materials.

It is considerably longer than wide, being, as shown in Fig. 1, somewhat elliptical through its lower portion except that it is provided externally at its lower end with a broader, somewhat triangular rim portion l2 external to which is the angular pick point l3. The opposite end portion of the pick is of a rectangular character and has an end piece M which has an external recess l5 and opposite to said recess an internal recess 16, there being an internal hump l! at each side of said recess l6. Also there is at one side an internal recess l8 and at the opposite side an internal recess 18a. At one side of the pick said end piece I4 is connected to the triangular part l2 by means of a slightly outcurved rim section or arm 19, and at the opposite side of the pick the rim section or arm 20 is more definitely outcurved adjacent to the part 52.

The thumb loop 6 has, integral therewith, an upwardly directed tail piece 2| having ratchet teeth 22 cut into the opposite edges thereof. The end portion of the thumb loop which is opposite to its tail piece is continued upwardly and is somewhat broadened thus forming the flattened head or plate 1 already mentioned. Said plate has a downwardly tapered wedge-shaped aperture 23 therethru, the side edge portions of said aperture cooperating with the aforesaid ratchet teeth 22 of the tail piece 2| to hold it retracted to the desired extent, it being understood that the loop 6, together with the tail piece thereof is sufficiently resilient to allow it to be contracted or expanded as may be necessary tofit properly upon the thumbs of different users. The double ratchet of the tail-piece 2| cooperate with the tapered aperture 23 to form a very dependable, adjustable thumb-gripping means.

Describing now the means for detachably securing the pick 5 to the device, to opposite sides of the upstanding flattened head or plate 1 are pivotally secured the members of the paired upper hooks ll already mentioned. These hooks are pivotally secured near one side edge of the plate I and upon the opposite edge portion of said plate is mounted a vertically adjustable abutment member 26, having a hook-shaped abutment 2'! to engage the recess I5 of the pick while one of the hooks ll undergrips the pick in its recess l8 and the other hook I l grips the recessed part Ilia, of the pick.

Said abutment member 26 has keeper ears or flanges 28 and 29 which fit loosely over and travel along the adjacent edge of the plate 1, the slidable attachment of the abutment member to the plate I is completed by means of a vertical slot 30 through said member and a small screw stud 3| mounted on the plate I to project thru said slot and furnished with a clamping nut 32.

Lower down on the device the oppositely disposed brackets 8, 8a, are each furnished with an angularly directed slotted base portion 35, and with these slotted bases cooperates a threaded stud 36 and nut 31 which functions like the aforementioned stud 3i and nut 32. These brackets are made of sheet metal strips and their outer portions are each given a half twist, as shown in order to bring them in a substantially horizontal plane. The bracket recesses 9, 9a, are thus positioned to receive the side portions I9 and 20 of the pick, and the hooks II], which are pivotally secured near the base portions of the brackets, may then be swung into place to aid in keeping the attached pick in place.

In order to provide a better foothold for the stud 36 a broad nut 38 (see Fig. 4) may be provided with a screw threaded hole to receive one end portion of the stud 36.

The thumb loop 6 is shown more outcurved at 40 than its opposite side, this outcurved part being provided to facilitate adjustment when the pick is given a pronounced angular twist about its vertical axis. As shown in Fig. 3 the pick is attached so that the more outcurved part 20 thereof lines with the loop part 40 which is near est the thumb nail.

The fact that the brackets 8 and 8a are slotted permits the pick 5 to be mounted upon the loop portion 6 in such a manner that a slight angular adjustment may be had with relation to the longitudinal axis of said loop thus permitting the pick to be struck over the strings either in an edgewise or in a flatwise manner, thus producing different qualities of tones. The pick 5 surrounds the extremity of the thumb in all of its adjusted positions. When the string is released from the pick in a horizontal direction parallel with the fret, a different quality and strength of tone is produced than when the string is released from pressure vertical to the fret.

Preparatory to attaching the pick 5 all of the four hooks mentioned will first be swung back out of the way. The widest portion of the pick will then be disposed opposite to the notches 9, 9a in the outer ends of the brackets 8, Ba and the pick will then be lowered until a firm contact is made between the side portions thereof and the inner edges of said notches. Thereupon the top portion of the pick will be moved back under the abutment 21 and then the four hooks will all be swung into their operative positions. The brackets 8 and the abutment member 26 will have previously been properly adjusted to accommodate the application of the pick member to the construction which supports it.

The slot 30 in the member 26 permits the pick member, when the nut 31 is loosened, to be elevated sufficiently to free the part 21 from the part of the pick which is adjacent the notches I5 and IS. The pick may then be swung to the left freeing it from notch 8a and then withdrawn from the notch 9. The pick being bendable in the plane of its narrowness may be twisted slightly freeing it from notch 9a without any adjustment being made except that of rotating the various hooks on their pivots.

The ratchet toothed portion 2! of the thumb loop may be adjusted last, said portion being repeatedly moved inwardly until the user finds, by trial, that the thumb loop grips his thumb with the desired firmness.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the subject matter claimed.

I claim:

1. A device of the kind described having a resilient thumb loop member one end portion of which is furnished with a wedge-shaped aperture and the opposite end portion of which is furnished with a tapered ratchet toothed tail adjustably engageable with different edge portions of said aperture to regulate the size of said thumb loop.

2. The subject matter of claim 1 and said tail consisting of a strip having an ascending series of differently proportioned ratchet teeth in opposite edge portions thereof.

3. A device of the kind described having a continuous resilient thumb loop member one end portion of which is furnished with a tapered tail having a series of ratchet teeth therealong, the opposite end portion of said member having a tapered wedge-shaped aperture therethrough to receive said tail along different points of its taper, the resiliency of said tail tending to wedge a tooth against that edge portion of the tapered aperture which it engages.

4. The subject matter of claim 3 and the ratchet teeth of said tail consisting of two series located in opposite side portions thereof, the teeth of both series being inclined in the same direction.

5. A device of the kind described including a pick having a continuous rim portion; and a thumb piece to detachably support said pick, said thumb piece having a hook-shaped abutment to receive and overlie a portion of said rim and having hooks to releasably retain said rim under said abutment, and additional hooks to aid in keeping said rim in place.

6. In a device of the kind described, a support attachable to the human hand, said support carrying oppositely disposed outwardly directed members which have notches in their outer ends, a pick having a rim portion a part of which is wider than the distance between the bases of said notches and another part of which is at least equal to said distance whereby the narrower portion of said rim may be fitted closely into said notches for mounting in an operative position, and latches to hold said pick in the aforesaid mounted position.

7. The subject matter of claim 6 and said support having an abutment to overlie a part of the rim portion of said pick to cooperate with said latches.

8. In a device of the kind described, a thumb loop member provided with means for attachment to the thumb with a portion of the thumb extending therethru, a pick consisting of a strip of rigid material of an elongated annular character andhaving a pick point at one extremity thereof, means carried by said thumb loop member and holding the upper portion of said pick back in a definite relation thereto, and additional means carried by said thumb loop member at a lower point to attach the pick thereto, the latter means being adjustable to vary the distance between the lower portions of said pick and thumb loop.

9. The subject matter of claim 8 and said additional means consisting of slotted members having screw threaded fastening devices extending through their slots.

10. A device of the kind described including a pick having a continuous rim portion, and a thumb piece to detachably support said pick, said thumb piece having a hook-shaped abutment to receive and overlie a portion of said rim and having fastening means to releasably retain said rim under said abutment, and additional fastening means to aid in keeping said rim in place.

11. A device of the kind described including a pick having a continuous rim portion, and a thumb piece to detachably support said pick, said thumb piece having a hook-shaped abutment to receive and overlie a portion of said rim and having fastening means to releasably retain said rim under said abutment, and additional fastening means to aid in keeping said rim in place, there being an external recess in the rim of said pick which seats in said hook-shaped abutment.

12. A device of the kind described including a pick having a continuous rim portion, and a thumb piece to detachably support said pick, said thumb piece having a hook-shaped abutment to receive and overlie a portion of said rim and having fastening means to releasably retain said rim under said abutment, and additional fastening means to aid in keeping said rim in place, said additional fastening means being adjustably mounted on said thumb piece whereby the picks position may be varied relative to its support.

13. A device of the kind described including a pick having a continuous rim portion, and a thumb piece to detachably support said pick, said thumb piece having a hook-shaped abutment to receive and overlie a portion of said rim and having fastening means to releasably retain said rim under said abutment, and additional fastening means independently adjustably mounted on said thumb piece engaging the rim portion of said pick at different points of its continuity.

14. A device of the kind described comprising a pick having a continuous rim portion provided with an external recess, a thumb piece to detachably support said pick, said thumb piece having a hook-shaped abutment overlying said pick at a point adjacent said recess, and means to releasably retain said pick in a pivotal relation with said abutment.

15. A device of the kind described having a resilient thumb loop member one end portion of which is furnished with a tapered tail having two series of ratchet teeth located in opposite side portions thereof and inclined in the same direction, the opposite end portion of said member having a wedge shaped aperture therethrough to releasably retain said tail.

16. A thumb loop comprising a bent piece of resilient material one end of which is extendable through an opening in the opposite end, said opening being wedged shaped; the end of said piece which extends through said opening being tapered and having ratchet teeth extending therealong projectible through said opening at different points along its length.

17. A single piece of bent material having a tapered slot in one end and the opposite end of the piece tapered, said tapered end having ratchet teeth in both edges extendable through said slot at different points along its long dimension.

18. As an article of manufacture, a pick comprising a relatively thin, fiat, narrow annulus or loop, which is considerably longer than wide, being somewhat elliptical through its lower portion and of a rectangular character at its upper portion, said pick being provided externally at its lower end with a broader, somewhat triangular rim portion, and an angular pick point external to said triangular rim portion.

19. As an article of manufacture, a pick comprising a relatively thin, fiat, narrow annulus or loop, which is considerably longer than wide, being somewhat elliptical through its lower portion and of a rectangular character at its upper portion, said pick being provided externally at its lower end with a broader, somewhat triangular rim portion, an angular pick point external to said triangular rim portion, said rectangular portion comprising an end piece having an external recess and opposite to said recess an internal recess, internal humps at each side of said internal recess, and there being additional internal recesses adjacent said humps.

20. A device of the kind described having a, 

